In all my years of architecture school and practice, there seems to be a pervasive myth that my job is pretty and easy. Here, I reveal the painful, ugly truth about why it takes so long to build a building, what it is exactly that we do, and why that's not creamer you smell in my coffee.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I was so exhausted after doing the first punchlist in Wheatlands yesterday that after I got home more than 12 hours after leaving it, I ate dinner, conferred with Miss Kitty about a cover letter, and took my achy ass to bed. Punchlists are a lot harder than I remembered. As I've described in an earlier post, a punchlist is a visual inspection and check of basic operations of a building. The architect walks from room to room and looks at everything. Here's a sorta-kinda comprehensive list:

Doors: Is door clean? Does it have any marks, scratches, dents? Is the hardware in the door complete--can the door lock if it's supposed to lock? If it has a closer, does it close the door? Does the door hang flush in the frame both depth-wise and length/height-wise? Does it close and latch with a normal amount of force? Are silencers and seals fully adhered to the frame?

Wall base: Is it wrinkled? Fully adhered to the wall? Scratched? Marked or dented? Missing? Does it need cleaning?

Walls: Is the paint completed? Are there any scratches, marks, dents, or splatters of adjacent colored paint? Is the wallcovering fully adhered? Do the patterns match up properly? Are the chair rails/wainscots finished completely? Are handrails complete? Are there any nails sticking out that could poke a hand? Are the nail holes filled and sealed? Is ceramic tile complete? Any cracked or chipped ones?

Ceilings: Are all the ceiling tiles in one piece and laying flat in the grid? Are the tiles clean? Is the grid clean? Any dents or damage? Any dents or paint issues in any drywall ceilings or soffits?

Lights/electrical: Are the lights installed? Do they work? Are all the lights/ballasts in the fluorescent lights? Are all the electrical devices and faceplates/outlets complete? Is there any paint/stains on the outlets and faceplates? Are the lenses or housing of the lights in one piece? Is there any debris in the lights? Are lights set properly in the ceiling grid?

Plumbing: Is there hot and cold water to the sinks? Do toilets flush, fully evacuate bowl, and refill? Do sprayers work? Do fixtures leak? Are shut-off valves operable? Are escutcheon plates on all pipes going into walls?

Casework (cabinets): Are finishes complete? Any scratches, dents, debris on them? Are the surfaces clean? Do all drawers pull out and push back in with a normal amount of force? Do cabinet doors open and close properly? Do doors stay open when left open? Do magnetic catches keep doors closed? Do doors hang plumb and even with each other? Are drawer faces in line with each other? Do access panels work easily?

Yesterday, the owner's representative, the on-site field engineer from the contractor, the electrical engineer, and I walked around the first of four wings of Wheatlands for six hours, inspecting room after room and marking things to correct with painter's tape while typing the notes into the contractor's laptop. I don't know if I own any shoes I can stand in for six hours. Stand, walk, lean down, stand up, jump to stick something high on a wall near a mark, stand, turn around 720 degrees while looking up, walk, lean, stand...you get the picture. My lower calves and ankles/Achilles tendons were aching such that even this morning at 6am, I was walking with my feet bowed out. By the time I got home last night, both of my entire legs hurt all the way to the outside of my hip. I need new inserts for my Vibram-soled work boots if I'm gonna do three more of these. The field engineer said Area 1 was the hardest for her to do too, thought it would seem like the easiest since it had lots of offices and some repetetive exam rooms.

About Me

I'm a (finally) licensed architect out here in the wild, wild West who kicks butts and punches lists. I focus on designing hospitals, which--between the program and the clients--is a real challenge. I like what I do for a living, and have the site observation photos to prove it. My job is part designer, part technician, part software guru, part counselor, part therapist, part spiritual guide, and part repo man. So don't toy with me, or I'll refuse to sign your Pay Application.

Note and Disclaimer

The content on this blog is not approved by my employers, fellow employees, or any professional organization involved in the design or construction industry. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone and should not be considered representative of the opinions of my employers or my profession.
Any professional opinions, design concepts, layouts, and details should be taken with a grain of salt and a large margarita. This blog should not be used in place of consulting a design or construction professional in person, nor should it be a substitute for having a professional review your particular project.
All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty.
No, I will not design your deck for you.